Vangjel Çërrava (born 1941) is an Albanian politician of the Albanian Party of Labour (PPSh). He was member of the

Albanian Parliament The Parliament of Albania ( sq, Kuvendi i Shqipërisë) or Kuvendi is the unicameral representative body of the citizens of the Republic of Albania; it is Albania's legislature. The Parliament is composed of no less than 140 members elected to a ...

, Deputy Chairman of the

Cabinet of Albania The Council of Ministers () is the executive branch that constitutes the Government of Albania. The Council is led by the Prime Minister of Albania. The prime minister is nominated by the President from among those candidates, who enjoy majority s ...

, and for a short time member of the Politburo of the Party.

Biography

Çërrava, who initially carried over functions in the economic sector, became in 1978 a representative in the People's Assembly (Alb: ''Kuvendi Popullor''). He remained on this function during the ninth to the eleventh

legislative term A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections. ...

s which ended in 1991 with the fall of communism in Albania. In October 1982, he became a member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Party. In this position, he took part in 1985 at the state funeral of Enver Hoxha. In addition, during the 9th Congress of the Party in November 1986, he was elected candidate-member of the

Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania The Politburo was the leading organ of the Party of Labour of Albania. It comprised key government ministers and Central Committee secretaries and served as the main administrative and policy-making body, convening on a weekly basis. The followin ...

. Çërrava became member in July 1990. He held this position until the dissolution of the PPSh and the establishment of the

Albanian Socialist Party The Socialist Party of Albania ( sq, Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë, PS or PSSh) is a social-democratic political party in Albania. It has been described as centre-left, to left-wing. It was founded on 13 June 1991. The PS is an associate of t ...

(Alb: ''Partia Socialiste e Shqipërisë'') in June 1991. Between 20 February 1987 to 2 February 1989, he was also Deputy Chairman of the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

in the Government of

Adil Çarçani Adil Çarçani (5 May 1922 – 13 October 1997) was an Albanian politician who served as the 24th Prime Minister of Albania during the Communist era led by Enver Hoxha. He served as the titular head of the Albanian government in the years immedia ...

. In 1993, a special court was established in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

against Çërrava and nine other former high-ranking officials ( Muho Asllani,

Besnik Bekteshi Besnik Bekteshi (born 1941) is a former Albanian politician of the Albanian Party of Labour (PPSh). He has served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry of Communist Albania. Biography Bekteshi was born on 11 August 1941 in Shkodër. H ...

Foto Çami Foto Çami (born 4 October 1925, date of death unknown) was an Albanian academic and politician of Albanian Party of Labour (PPSh). Biography Çami was born on 4 October 1925 in the village of Labovë of Gjirokastër District in Albania. He joine ...

Hajredin Çeliku Hajredin Çeliku (born May 4th 1927 - died June 2005) was a former Albanian politician of the Albanian Party of Labour. He was a member of the Albanian Parliament, Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania, and served as member of the Cabinet of ...

Lenka Çuko Lenka Çuko (born 8 July 1938) is an Albanian former politician of the Albanian Party of Labour (PPSh). Biography Çuko was born in Lushnjë to a family of partial Aromanian origins. In 1970, she was elected first-deputy of the People's Asse ...

Llambi Gegprifti Llambi Gegprifti (born 14 February 1942, in Pogradec) is a former Albanian politician and mayor of Tirana (precisely Chairman of the Executive Committee of the People's Council of Tirana District) from 1986 through 1987 and 1989 through 1990. He w ...

Qirjako Mihali Qirjako Mihali (13 May 1929 - 7 April 2009) was an Albanian politician of the Albanian Party of Labour. He was a candidate-member of the Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania, Minister of Finance, and member of the Albanian Parliament. Bi ...

Pali Miska Pali Miska (19 May 1931 – September 2009) was an Albanian politician of the Communist Era. He served as Chairman of the Assembly of the Republic of Albania from 22 November 1982 to 19 February 1987. Miska was first as a party functionary in ...

, and

Prokop Murra Prokop Murra (24 November 1921 – 9 September 2005) was an Albanian politician of the Albanian Party of Labour (PPSh). Early life Murra was born on 24 November 1921 in Tirana, and studied economics. He joined the Albanian Communist Party in 194 ...

). They were accused of "abuse of public funds". The following sentences were given: Mihali and Gegprifti eight years each, Miska and Çuko seven years each, Çami, Çeliku and Bekteshi six years each, and Çërrava, Murra and Asllani five years each.Kathleen Imholz: ''CAN ALBANIA BREAK THE CHAIN? THE 1993-94 TRIALS OF FORMER HIGH COMMUNIST OFFICIALS''
/ref> All were released shortly-after the turmoils of 1997.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerrava, Vangjel 1941 births Living people Politicians from Korçë Party of Labour of Albania politicians Members of the Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania Candidate members of the Politburo of the Party of Labour of Albania Members of the Parliament of Albania Communism in Albania Deputy Prime Ministers of Albania